F1 – Max Verstappen says he is “unlucky” in Miami
Max Verstappen seemed to be off to a good start this weekend after his victory during the sprint race. But we are never short of surprises because sometimes Formula 1 offers us quite exceptional situations. Like this Sunday, with the safety car coming out, a situation that forced Max Verstappen to see his rival Lando Norris soar far ahead of him. In addition to the safety car, the Red Bull driver had major issues with the tires and cones...
A weekend of mixed feelings for Max Verstappen who finishes second in this Miami Grand Prix. Despite his new victory in the sprint race earlier this weekend, the race unfolded differently this Sunday. After narrowly avoiding disaster with his teammate Sergio Pérez at the first corner, the Dutchman seemed well on his way to taking the lead of the race and pulling away lap after lap.
But that was without counting on the safety car. Following the clash between Sargeant and Magnussen on the 29th lap, the safety car had positioned itself in an unusual place, leaving Lando Norris far ahead of the latter. However, Max Verstappen was not done with surprises. His tires were not as good as he wanted on this American circuit. Nevertheless, he had to deal with it and finish the race. He crosses the checkered flag in second position with very challenging hard tires to manage.
Unlucky, these are things that happen. It’s the race, sometimes it works for you, sometimes it’s not the case, you have to accept it. Today, it didn’t work for me. The other drivers were too fast with their hard tires. I had no pace with the hard ones, I felt like it was worse than with the mediums. I had no grip. We have to understand why these tires didn’t work for us,” confessed the triple world champion to Canal+ microphone.
Unlucky but serene
Despite finishing second in the Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is still strengthening his lead in the overall standings. By accumulating victories, whether in sprints and/or on race Sundays, the Dutchman is at the top with 136 points, 5 podiums, 4 wins, and 1 retirement since the beginning of the season. Apart from his tire issue this weekend, the Red Bull driver also experienced a moment of fright. Leading the race on Sunday, he lost control of his single-seater. Briefly going off track, he hit a cone. It was quite an impressive accident but without any considerable damage to the car. Nonetheless, the Red Bull driver managed to carry the cone along for several meters. The virtual safety car was then deployed promptly, but it was more of a scare than actual harm.
